by Amy Kyle
Shelley could feel him behind her, licking the nape of her neck and making her want to go for another round. “Brent, I need to tell you something and you really do need to stop that. I’ve already lost my train of thought several times during the evening. I’m not exactly who you think I am. I was sent here to kill you, but I’ve turned over a new leaf. With that being said, your life is in danger and people are going to come to collect the bounty on your head. $20,000,000 is a lot of money and you may not think that you’re worth it, but I believe that the information in that case that you’re carrying is.” She didn’t want to just blurt it out, but it seemed necessary to pull off the band aid quickly. To do it slowly would’ve been wrong. This way, he was now forewarned and maybe that would give him an idea of how serious this could be.
Brent grabbed her by the arm and turned it with his hand up underneath her chin. “I want you to give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just kill you. You just admitted that you were an assassin sent to kill me and get this information. You didn’t have to do that and I was pretty much oblivious to anything, but the physical pleasures that we could give each other.” He could smell her and the perfume of her natural essence had gotten to him in a profound way.
“I just finished telling you that I’ve changed my mind. Like you said, I didn’t have to do that. I now have a vested interest in keeping you safe, but believe me when I tell you that others are not going to see it the same way. You count yourself lucky that you have me on your side and it’s not the other way around anymore. I’ve never walked away from a job before and it pains me to do it now.” “I would like to turn the tables, but his technique is above reproach. I could fight him tooth and nail and he would know that he was in a battle for his life. I think that in this instance that I can get a lot more with words than with actions.”
“I don’t know why I should even believe you. I’m guessing that your real name is not Kelly. You tricked me and that’s not something that can easily be done with a man with my experience. I’m usually aware of my surroundings and of the people that I spend time with. I’m not one to easily trust and I can’t decide if I should turn you over to the authorities or let you help me.” Brent pulled her from the shower and into the bedroom. He pushed her down onto the mattress and then grabbed for the gun that he had hidden underneath the bed. He didn’t think that he would have an occasion to use it, but he was always well prepared for any eventuality.
“I can prove to you that I’m on your side. The contract states that you have to be dead and the information taken from you, before 10:00 AM. I’m not sure why they didn’t make it 6:00 AM, but apparently they thought that you were going to wait to bring the information to the light of day.” She heard a noise and looked towards the balcony to see a man completely covered in black clothing repelling down. He landed and pulled out a gun, only to have a rude awakening.
The door was open and Shelley used that to her advantage. She threw the knife that she had ready to kill Brent, but instead she did it to the one person that didn’t see it coming. The gun didn’t go off and the man known, as the carpenter dropped down with his throat spewing blood all over the floor. He was gasping and trying to pull out that knife, but it was too little too late.
Chapter 4
“I don’t know about you, but I think that should prove to you that I’m on your side. I don’t think that’s going to be the end of it and this was an open contract. I was given the heads up, but it became public knowledge to the community about an hour ago. If it’s all the same to you, I would like to get out of here, before anything else happens.” She didn’t give him a chance to think about it, grabbing his arm and forcing him towards the door.
This time, there was a young woman on the other side and she appeared to be vacuuming. They were on their way down the hall, when Brent had an inkling that something was wrong. It finally dawned on him that a woman like her wouldn’t be wearing 4 inch high heels. Girls in that profession would be in something more comfortable like flats. He pushed Shelley up against the wall went down on one knee and fired one shot. The woman had turned and had a very small gun concealed underneath her dress. The shot that he fired had made contact with her hand.
The gun in her hand had now spiraled down the hallway, as she scrambled after it showing no regard for the bleeding hand. She did not scream or show any kind of reaction and that itself made Brent a little worried. Only a true professional would be able to withstand that kind of pain and not scream bloody murder.
“That was pretty good shooting, but maybe next time you should take the kill shot.” Shelley opened up the door to the stairwell and motioned for him to join her. She heard the elevator and looked at who was coming out through the door and it was not a sight that she wanted to see. He was only known as the cleaner, a bald white man with a pair of black gloves and wearing a suit that made him look like the undertaker.
“They’re not pulling punches. How are we going to get out of this building, let alone to the senator’s office a few miles away? Any time that I’ve done this in the past, I’ve never had much of a problem. That only makes me believe that what’s in this case is dangerous. I’ve never been tempted to look into one of these things before, but I think that there might be a first time for everything.” He laid it down on the stairs, while she was keeping look out and making sure that they weren’t going to be rudely interrupted. They had barely enough time to dress quickly.
“I’m not sure that this is a good idea, Brent. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t know what exactly you’re carrying, but I think that we can find a better place to do it. We are sitting ducks in this hotel and we need to get some distance between us and this place.” “He seemed determined and I guess I would be the same way, if I were in his shoes. I wish that I could tell him that we will survive this, but with everything that I know about these people it’s going to be a damn miracle, if we even get out of the building alive.”
“You make a valid point, but I’m not going anywhere, until I find out what your real name is.”
Shelley grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs away from forces that were beyond their control. “My name is Shelley and I try to keep my alternate personalities similar to that of my real one. I should be getting paid right about now, but I imagine that the $10,000,000 that they’ve already given me has been taken away from my account. It was on a hold, until early this morning and now that time has elapsed. I would say that I want you to be worth the sacrifice, but I think I already know that you are.” “I never thought that this day would come. I always thought that this would happen to somebody else and not me. I’d watched movies that would end exactly like this and I would shake my head in disbelief. I guess I have a lot to learn and hopefully Brent and I can learn it together.”
They moved down the stairs jumping two steps at a time and sometimes three when they were feeling more adventurous. Brent looked towards Shelley and couldn’t believe that she was the one that they had sent to take him out. If it wasn’t for matters of the heart, he would most likely be dead and wouldn’t have even seen it coming. He wanted more time to get to know her and to see if her love for him was strong enough to keep her from going back to bad habits. The one thing that he wouldn’t condone is her killing for money. The past was the past, but what happened from this moment on concerned him, almost as much as it concerned her.
Brent had his gun in hand and he was using it to lead the way. He felt hot lead streaking through the air. He barely ducked out of the way by pure instinct. He had done what most men would do in that situation. He had grabbed Shelley and pulled her out of the way of certain harm.
Shelley stumbled down the stairs and twisted her ankle. She did not fall to her knees, but she did show discomfort. This was not the way that it was supposed to be and she was now wondering if maybe her heart was the problem. It felt too good to try to deny herself that this was meant to be. She would protect the both of them and he would do the exact same thing in return. They we
re both well prepared and trained. They were an unstoppable force.
They came out into the lobby with a fuselage of bullets. They walked into the fray with a determination and conviction that was shown by how easily they had dispatched of those that were standing in their way. Those people that were trying to kill them felt that nail in their coffin, flying backwards and lying with vacant stares in their eyes.
They came out into the open and a black SUV have now screeched to a halt in front of them to shield them from an attack that came from across the street. The door opened and the senator and a posse of secret servicemen were right there to motion them into the vehicle.
“We heard some chatter that there was going to be trouble and we decided to intervene. The information that you have in that case is everything on all of our undercover operatives. If that were to fall into the wrong hands, then those that are trying to keep our freedoms would have to keep one eye open.” The senator opened the case and smiled, knowing that this needed to be placed into a safe and locked. There were no electronic copies. This was a kind of information that had to be kept in a soon to be redacted hardcopy.
Shelley heard the bullets ricocheting off the armored glass, as they sped down the road. “I got involved with a man that I was supposed to kill and now I’m sitting in what constitutes the Lions’ den. I can play the game and if I do this right, I can give them high profile targets that make them offer me complete immunity from all charges.”
“I’m glad to see you, senator and now that I know what was in that package, I can rest easy knowing that those men’s lives are now safe from retribution on behalf of our enemies. I know that this is going to be a strange thing for me to say, but Shelley is not exactly an innocent bystander. She was supposed to kill me and let’s just say that things didn’t go according to plan.” The story was told and then Shelley was brought in without handcuffs. That debriefing led to the arrest of several assassins and a few of her clients that had the reputation of having a squeaky clean record.
“I’m glad to see that all of us are on the same page. I’ve given you these people on a silver platter and now I expect a reward. I want my record expunged, my name completely extinguished and a new identification and life. I also want William to be a part of it, but only if he agrees. I would never presume to tell him what to do.” “I knew that we had not talked about it, but deep down I figured that he would know that being with me was better than going back into the field.”
Shelley was a woman of her word and she did track down that taxi driver and set him up with the money promised.
The agreement was signed by the district Attorney and by the senator who gave his personal blessing to the document in question. She signed it and it was agreed that she would never have to testify. The evidence that she gave them was damning. She had photographs and videos and even names and dates of transactions that could not be weaseled out of.
Commander William Lester and Shelley Coleman were now known as, Stephen and Marcia Cross of Connecticut. They were going to play house and try to have a normal life. They both knew that there was nothing normal about them. They closed one chapter and opened a new one with the possibility of a third if things didn’t work out.
One Night with the Bear
Nicole had never been in more of a hurry then she was now. She just had gotten out of the doctor’s office, and with some very big news. As soon as she heard those two impactful words, all she wanted to do was tell Gregory.
Gregory was a man she had met online, specifically lovesick.com, the place where those who feel unloved find out they aren’t. Nicole had never been in a serious relationship before meeting Gregory. Every previous time, she had just gotten bad vibes from the others. This caused her to be extremely timid around them, which turned them off and terminated the relationship.
But Gregory had been different. She had started getting that vibe with him, but he was just so considerate and was nothing but supportive for her, so Nicole decided to stick it out with him. It was around the time she came really trust him that they had their first time. Sex with him was not only pleasurable, because boy was he an animal, but she felt a sense of calm and serenity when they did it.
And now, this…
Nicole drove down what felt like yet another copy of the same housing structures that she had seen the past few minutes. What was that address he said? 2356 Burmont Dr.? 2365 Brewmont Dr.? Was it a more rusty red house or a more vivid red one? It became dark so quick, how could she be able to tell anyways? Good God! She had been here before! Why couldn’t she remember this frigging place?!?!
‘Deeeeeep breath,’ she reminded herself.
Then she saw it; Burmont Dr. Nicole breathed a small sigh of relief and turned down there. She recognized the house Gregory lived in with his roommates as soon as she came up to it. She parked and hurried up the stairs, one hand holding the railing while the over was draped over her chest. She knocked lightly on the door and waited.
Lewis, one of Gregory’s roommates, opened the door. With the door wide open, the sounds of video games mixed with joking male voices could be heard in the back.
“Hey Nicole.” Lewis said, “What’s up-?”
“Where’s Gregory?”
“Well he’s out Nicole. You know he does this-“
“Where is he?!”
“I don’t know Nicole.” Lewis said, trying his best to not lose his friendly tone, “He doesn’t tell us. He just leaves every once in a while. I’ll let him know you stop by.”
Nicole rubbed her chin frantically, shifting her eyes back and forth.
“Are you ok Nicole? Did something happen?”
“I-I-I just really need to talk to him right now. I don’t know what to do and-and-“
Nicole held her stomach steady with both hands now. Lewis only had to glance down for a second before it hit him.
“Holy shit! You aren’t-…Oh man. Yeah, I will let him know as soon as he gets back that you need to see him. Oh my gosh Nicole.”
“Can I wait here till he gets back?”
“Uh, I dunno Nicole. You see, he probably wouldn’t-“
Nicole’s voice barely registered above a whisper, “Please Lewis.”
Lewis silently looked at her, caught between two hard places, “Yeah Nicole. You can take his room. We’ll probably be up when he gets back, so I’ll let him know.”
Nicole gave a forced smile and stepped inside. As she made her way to Gregory’s room, she could hear the whispering behind her.
***
A knock on the door woke Nicole up from her slumber. It took her a few seconds before she remembered how she got her, and the importance of her visit. She hurried to the door to open it, but it swung open before she reached it. There in the door stood Gregory, his big shoulders slumped to the sides. As she looked at the somber face of her boyfriend, Nicole recalled how his bearded face usually made him seem jolly. Now, he looked like a homeless man.
“Lewis told me you were in my room, and…” Gregory said, unable meet Nicole’s eyes.
“I just wanted to let you know as soon as I did.” Nicole said, “I just didn’t know what to do. I’m so scared.”
Gregory nodded and wrapped Nicole in his arms. He then led her to his bed.
“What were you planning to do with the child?”
“I don’t know. I just wanted to tell you. I-I think I just wanted to know how you felt about this since we’re together and all.”
Gregory sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He tried to make a grab for her hand, but Nicole backed away from him.
“Look, if you aren’t ready for this, I understand, but I was expecting a bit more sympathy from you-“
“Nicole, there’s something you need to know if we’re going to go forward with this.”
“Wha-what?”
Gregory sat back, took a deep breath, and then looked Nicole in the eyes more intently then he had all night.
“I’m a bear shifter.”
“A w
hat?”
“It’s kinda like a werewolf, but I turn into a bear. It’s crazy, I know, but it’s the truth. I get these strong urges to change now and again and I have to go off into the middle of nowhere.”
“So the baby would…”
“It’s possible. I don’t know how I got it for myself. It’s still new for me. The guys are cool with it, kind of. Listen, I’ll understand if you want to, you know…”
“Abort.”
“That and possibly never want to see me again.”
Nicole was silent for a while.
“Were things ever going to work out between us? Were you going to walk away from me because of what you are?”
“I don’t want to Nicole. I really don’t want to.”
Gregory’s gaze weakened and he began to grip the sheets tightly as he looked away. He was surprised when he felt Nicole’s hand stroking his. He looked up to see those loving eyes that had kept him scared of ruining the relationship because of what he was.
“We’ll figure this thing out.” Nicole said, “The two of us.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“After all that I have told you?”
“Yes Gregory.”
Gregory was quiet for a few moments, but then he lunged forward and kissed Nicole passionately on the lips. His face pushed her into the pillows as his body slowly began to compress down upon her. With each successive kiss he gave her, Nicole could feel a combination of warmth and desire arising within her. He lifted his body up slightly and she could feel his fingers slipping underneath her shirt, dragging it off her body. Her fingers fumbled blindly for his pants as she began to get them off of him. After the pants came his shirt. Once that was off, she skimmed her fingers along his hairy upper body. Before, she had enjoyed this part of him because it made him seem rugged and almost primal. Now, having been told the truth, it gave awoken in her a beast of her own.
